Matthew is the author of the book Battles of the Pacific War 1941 - 1945. This is a book that covers nine of the largest land and naval battles in the Pacific Theater. For further details, check out the book's blog ( http://battlesofthepacificwar.blogspot.co.uk ), Amazon ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battles-Pacific-War-1941-ebook/dp/B008YDCBBQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345193117&sr=8-1 ) and Lulu pages.

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Battle Tactic Tips for Rome Total War

Rome TW (Total War) was one of the earlier games of the TW series that took the series to exciting new heights. Its 3D battles were undoubtedly the highlight of the game which included numerous options and divisions for battles on a variety of terrain such as mountains and deserts, as well as settlements. Here are a few tips for Rome TW battles during campaigns.

Battles beyond Settlements

Before the battle begins, you should always check what you are coming up against. As such, take note of the size of the other army and whether it is larger than your own. If so, then that certainly does not guarantee that you will lose the battle, especially if the numerical advantage is only small. The blue and orange bar highlight the strength of the relative armies, and this is also something that needs to be taken into consideration. If all things remain equal go forward into battle, but if their army is significantly larger and has better divisions then you may want to consider withdrawing and re-enforcing your army.

When the battle begins you should firstly make sure that you set all infantry divisions to fire at will mode. A number of Roman infantry divisions have a small amount of missiles which they can first fire. In addition to this, your archers and horse archers will already have this option set, but might also include fire missiles which can be more effective. Use your missile divisions to maximum effect at the beginning of the battle, and with increasing losses this should ensure that the other army is the first to charge towards your line.

Never go into battle without any cavalry. An army without cavalry will lack speed and mobility. If possible include a general that can rally the troops. Generals are also heavy cavalry divisions that can be very potent. Group your cavalry divisions so that they will outnumber any infantry division with 100+ troops.

With a group of cavalry divisions you can then target a number of isolated divisions. Missile divisions will fall be the wayside when charged down by a group of cavalry, and so if possible take out any missile divisions with your cavalry. This should reduce your own losses to arrows, so is one good way to cover your infantry.

Make sure that you keep your general in the battle and close to your troops. The loss of a general will ensure that your army will round more quickly, and so you should keep your general back. If you must send your general into battle, make sure a number of infantry or cavalry units are supporting the division. In this respect, targeting the enemy general with your own cavalry is also a good tactic.

Settlement Battles

Battles for settlements are a slightly different proposition. Whether your army is besieging a settlement, or your own settlement is besieged by another army, the settlement walls might be a key factor in these battles. To begin with, you should invest in the best possible settlement walls for settlements that could potentially be besieged.

Good settlement stone walls can be like another 1,000 troops! Their towers will fire lots of arrows and missiles at the invading army, which can take out a lot of their troops. They can also take out battering rams and siege towers. Fortify your settlements with a number of archer divisions, which can then be positioned at the top of stone walls to fire down on approaching infantry divisions.

Infantry divisions are more important in these battles to either take or hold the city walls. As such, place as many as possible on the city walls around the gates and select the guard option. A number of these will already be placed on the city walls at the beginning of the battle, but if you have any further infantry placed on the ground consider re-enforcing your settlement walls with them.

If you are invading a settlement, then blowing holes in stone walls can circumvent gateways. As such, invest in Sap Points that will do this, ensuring that you can advance your divisions into the settlement. Then move infantry in to take any nearby towers from within the settlement. This might be a better alternative to taking gateways where most of the other army’s infantry divisions will likely be.

Once you've taken the walls, it might be tempting to charge for the settlement center and flag. However, if possible it is better to take out remaining divisions within the city around walls that have fallen to you. Whether you are inside or outside the walls, stay away from any towers on the walls that have not been taken as these will still fire arrows at your divisions.

These are a few good tips that should ensure you are victorious in more of your campaign battles both beyond and within settlements. With more victories you should then be able to reach the campaign objectives and finish the campaign.